106 



THE CANA.DIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



render more dense and to sensibly alter 

 the shape. By this means trees and 

 vines can be totally changed from their 

 natural habits, and towering trees be 

 made low and open, spreading trees 

 dense, and the reo^ardless claniberine: 

 vine be made obedient and domestic. 

 2nd. To render more enduring of 

 severity in cold climates : This is done 

 only in the summer, and the effect is to 

 more perfectly ripen the wood growth, 

 and render it hard and endurins; against 

 severe cold. By this means less hardy 

 trees can be brought through success- 

 fully and safely. 3rd. To change the 

 bearing year : This pruning must be 

 very st^vere, and done only in the sum- 

 mer time. By taking off all the pro- 

 spective fruit and severely pruning or 

 checking the wood growth, the bearing 

 year may be changed to suit our con- 

 venience or profit. 4th. To render 

 fruitful : This is best done in the sum- 

 mer, and is performed, as previously 

 described, by diverting the energies of 

 the tree to the formation of fi-uit spurs 

 and fruit buds. Root pruning is chiefly 

 used for producing this much-desired 

 object. ]3ut 5th, and lastly, the object 

 may be to develop and perfect higher 

 standards of fruit. The philosophy of 

 this proposition is very easily shown, 

 for, granting the tree to have a certain 

 amount of energy to develop samples of 

 fruit, the less the samples the higher 

 the development. This is demonstrated 

 in practice. The results are, increased 

 siz'% or increased beauty of appearance, 

 or iucreased flavor, or each and all of 

 these ; the prices also are better and 

 the rewards greater. 



We have very hurriedly and very 

 imperfectly gone over the most im- 

 portant points connected with the art 

 and practice of pruning. Our object is 

 that it may in some slight degree further 

 the interest of our Canadian Horti- 

 culture, a great national interest that 

 we are so intensely concerned about. We 



are most heartily glad of the gigantic 

 strides already made in this benevolent 

 art whose object is rto beautify and 

 adorn, to elevate and enrich. 



B. GOTT, 

 Arkona Nurseries, Jan. 2nd, 1882. 



ROTTING OF TOMATOES. 



I have been interested in the corres- 

 pondence on the rotting of Tomatoes. 

 The extract from the Gardeners' Chron- 

 icle given in your December number, if 

 carefully looked at, will be found to be 

 no answer to the enquiry made. It is 

 established that as soon as the vitality 

 of organized matter is affected, decay 

 sets in and fungoid growth finds its 

 habitat there. It has been my ambition 

 to be early in Tomatoes, and I have 

 found much disappointment in finding 

 the young fruit withering and spoiled 

 by spotting, with all the appearance of 

 what is called " sun-scalds," though, as 

 the writer asserts, they cannot be that, 

 as the crown of the fruit hangs down- 

 wards ; nevertheless I opine that the 

 sun has a great deal to do with the 

 spotting, and that the stunted fruit is 

 caused by the drying up of the plant 

 from a want of moisture. Last season, 

 as usual, my vines, while pushing well, 

 and ahead of my fellow-amateur friends, 

 made no sensible progress, as fruit after 

 fruit spotted, dwindled and died ; but 

 adjoining my cucumber-frame, which I 

 kept well watered, f noticed that those 

 Tomatoe plants which came in for a 

 share from the garden-hose were en- 

 tirely free from any blemish, and the 

 plants, moreover, looked healthier. 

 Taking a hint thereby, I regularly 

 watered the lot, and was troubled no 

 more with spotty Tomatoes, the fruit 

 large and handsome and in great abun- 

 dance. 



Having had only one season for ex- 

 perimenting, I do not assert that water 



